Bar Fight
by MissLizzyJ
Summary: A little fantasy of how I wish a Long Branch fight scene could have gone. Not much plot. Canon? What's that?


A/N I know that Chester, Festus, and Quint weren't all necessarily Matt's deputies, much less all at the same time, and I don't think Burke came along until a little later, but I thought it was close enough for a little overlap in this case. I picture Kitty wearing the dress she wore in Unloaded Gun in this story, even though it's a few seasons later.

A/N2 I'm not thrilled with the title but I can't seem to come up with anything better. I'm open to suggestions.

Bar Fight

Matt and Chester had taken advantage of a rare quiet afternoon to play horseshoes with Festus and Quint when Nathan Burke ran up, out of breath.

"Marshal!" he panted. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"Well, that's where I've been-all over." Matt was irritated at being interrupted just when it was his turn.

"But Marshal, some of those Bar T riders are in the Long Branch giving Miss Kitty trouble!" Burke protested, just as Matt was making his pitch. The shot went wild and narrowly missed Festus as Matt immediately took off in the direction of the saloon, the other men following closely behind.

"No! Get your hands off me, you filthy pig!"

Inside the Long Branch, the foreman of the Bar T ranch, a middle-aged man covered in trail dust had Kitty pinned against the far end of the bar. He gripped her shoulders tightly and forced a kiss on her as several equally disheveled ranch hands cheered him on. Sam was nowhere in sight. The men were all too caught up with what was going on to notice when Matt burst through the doors.

"All right, hold it!" His voice had the ring of authority and all the men turned to look at him, including the one who was intent on having his way with Kitty. The furious redhead took that opportunity to slap him with all the force she possessed. Unfortunately, this only served to encourage him, and he resumed trying to kiss her.

"Let go of her!" Matt's voice boomed as he crossed the floor of the Long Branch in about four strides.

"Now, Marshal," one of the man's companions drawled lazily. "This ain't none of your affair. That's what them women's here for."

"Shut up." Matt gritted his teeth. The man deserved a beating for that remark, but he didn't have time at the moment. He reached out his left hand, pulled Kitty's attacker about two inches off the floor by the back of the collar, and yanked him away from her. Whirling around so that he was between the man and Kitty, he backhanded him and sent him sprawling into the nearest table, upending it. Festus jerked the man who insulted Kitty toward him and connected his fist with the man's jaw with a loud crack. The rest of the cowboys hauled the first man back to his feet and shoved him toward Matt again, and for the next few minutes bodies and furniture were flung around the barroom in equal measure, until all but one of the troublemakers were out cold on the wooden floor.

The last man standing turned and headed for the door, only to be intercepted by Sam, returning from an errand Kitty had sent him on. The man turned back to see Matt, thumbs looped through his belt, rocking back on his heels with a grim expression on his face. The man held his hands out at shoulder height. "I ain't gonna fight ya, Marshal!" he stammered.

"Get outta Dodge!" The man stood there uncertainly for a moment. "Now!" The frightened cowboy scurried out the door heading for the stable and eager to put Dodge City behind him.

"Beer's on the house!" Kitty announced. "You too, Sam. Go sit down for a few minutes." Sam took a seat at one of the few overturned tables left while Kitty drew mugs of beer for everyone. Matt's deputies, along with Burke, took their beers and sat around the table with Sam, leaving Kitty and Matt alone at the bar. Kitty walked around to the front of the bar while Matt took a long swallow of his beer.

"You all right, Kitty?" he asked as she slipped in between him and the bar.

"I am, Cowboy. Thanks for coming by to keep the peace." She batted her eyelashes at him playfully. "Oh, and without breaking _any _of my windows this time." She winked and added "There must be _something_ I can do to thank you." Before Matt knew what she was doing, Kitty had one arm around his waist and the other hand on his cheek, pulling his head down to hers as she reached up to kiss him.

"All in a day's work," he whispered just before his lips met hers. Instead of pulling back after a brief peck on the lips, and without even looking to see if anyone was watching, he grasped Kitty by the waist and pulled her closer as the kiss went on.

"Oh my gracious," Chester murmured, and the rest of the men turned in time to see Matt's hands slide up Kitty's ribcage and around to her back, his thumbs still resting on the sides of her breasts, stroking gently. The men spent the next couple of minutes trying not to look, and looking anyway.

The kiss ended and the couple looked into each others' eyes as they caught their breath. "Hold it!" Matt ordered.

Kitty raised her eyebrows. "In here? In front of everyone?"

"I guess not" Matt grinned. Then he moved his hands down to her hips, encircling her around the bustle, and lifted her effortlessly over his shoulder.

"Oh, Matt!" she gasped.

"Take them to jail when they come to," Matt said as he passed the table on his way to the front stairs.

"We'll do er, Matthew," Festus said with a smirk.

Matt began to climb the stairs, still carrying Kitty. "Lock up for me tonight, Sam!" she called out.

"Sure, Miss Kitty. Good...night," Sam swallowed dryly, realizing as he said it that it was only late afternoon.

"Looks to me like they're both going to have a good night," Quint said with a straight face.

"Well, forevermore!" Chester exclaimed. "It's enough to make you want to leave town!"

"What in thunder's going on here?" Doc stood in the doorway, taking in the sight of overturned and broken furniture, unconscious cowboys lying on the floor, and the local law enforcement carrying the owner of the place in the direction of her private living quarters.

"Well, Doc, let me buy you a beer and I'll tell you all about it." Burke jumped up and pulled Doc toward the mugs of beer Matt and Kitty had abandoned, eager to be the first to tell "the way it was."

END


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